Copywriting Mastermind Group 2016

[Chris Veal]

If you are in :
- comment on this thread and set your yearly goal for the year (x weekly income/x hour rate/x yearly income etc.)
I am new to copywriting but ready to recruit clients. My goal is to make at $25,000 next year.

- openly commit to action and prove this by having a profile ready for Friday Jan 1st
I commit to action by having a profile ready by Jan 1st.

 

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[eliquid]

Im in, but Im not signing up for Upwork or a job site.

I am wanting to learn copy on my own for my own use.

 

[Five Star]

Count me in.

Got my first $12 payment for Upwork yesterday, which has led to another opportunity.

Received an offer today which I accepted for $28 fixed price.

Small wins, but the ball is rolling

I'd like to achieve $150/ hour by end of 2016 and use this as my primary income, while I work on/figure out my Fastlane.

I just touched down in Colombia on Monday.

Good luck settling in! I travelled there a good few years back, and loved it, especially Medellin. Try not to get too distracted, lol.

 

[ChrisJTurner]

Goal

Charge $200 an hour, and get # of hours worked up to 750 by the end of the year.

You can make $200 an hour with writing copy?

 

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[jrd290]

I'm in.

Actions Completed:

• Upwork profile is online
• On day 4/15 of Lex's challenge

Actions to complete before 1st January:

• Complete days 5-15 of Lex's challenge
• 5 Upwork profile tests completed to over 90%
• Read through "Web Words That Work" and take notes
• Re-read and takes notes on: "How To Win Friends and Influence People" and "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion"
• Complete as many small transcription, proof-reading, editing jobs as I can. (I'll come up with a target number for this once I've done a few).

The weekly/monthly/yearly goals will be posted in a couple of weeks when I can figure out some realistic but challenging numbers.

 

[Fox]

@jrd290

Great goals and solid plan. I can see you doing well.


@Five Star

Thanks! Congrats on starting all ready. Would love to hear how the initial projects go for you.

 

[Phillip Chambers]

You can make $200 an hour with writing copy?

Yep. There are people making 5x that number.

 

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[BePhenomenal]

I'm in! Always thought this would be an invaluable skill.

While this is more of a skill to learn for me, I'll definitely be looking to do some jobs. My goal is to work my way up to $60/hour by the end of 2016.

I'll do the updates when I can, but will be absent in January (overseas without Internet).

Here's to a productive 2016!

 

[Kasper]

I'm in,

Upwork account up and running... Couple of tests taken to get a better profile... I am now number 1 for 'flight attendant service'...
On a serious note, I have contacted 3 leads for jobs, and already spent hours on a guy who wants seo, but can't really decide... How he wants to proceed.
Goals:
3 paid jobs done by first week in January, with 5 star rating. ...And enjoy doing it!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Fox]

Completed the initial stages of my profile this morning. Still have to complete some tests after I hit the gym.

I found the tests to be quite difficult but I guess that the point. How have you guys been scoring on them?

 

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[axeconnor]

I am in, I have my profile set up completely, and have $295 earnings at this point.

My goal for the year is to make enough to cover my cost of college after scholarship --- $6,350
At this point in time grades come first, so can't devote all my time towards freelancing

@Fox
I have done 6 tests, done well on 5 out of the 6, only had to hide one! Oddly enough it was the spelling test that I had to hide...But they are a lot more difficult than I was expecting when I first started.
And do you happen to have a copy of your Sinister Lex notes you talked about earlier?

 

[Fox]

I am in, I have my profile set up completely, and have $295 earnings at this point.

My goal for the year is to make enough to cover my cost of college after scholarship --- $6,350
At this point in time grades come first, so can't devote all my time towards freelancing

@Fox
I have done 6 tests, done well on 5 out of the 6, only had to hide one! Oddly enough it was the spelling test that I had to hide...But they are a lot more difficult than I was expecting when I first started.
And do you happen to have a copy of your Sinister Lex notes you talked about earlier?

Its the first post on this page...

Yes it was the spelling test that I did poorly in also.
How long have you been doing gigs? $295 is good for your first few days (which is sounds like it is)

 

[axeconnor]

Thanks for that!

Hahaha, I wish it was for my first few days!
It was a little over 4 weeks, so not the best for a month of work. But my earnings went something like
First week- $0 (did everything for free)
Second week- $10
Third week- $90
Fourth week- $190

So not the best earnings, but my foot is in the door

 

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[extraordwealth]

I am in

Sent from my Infinix-X551 using Tapatalk

 

[Kasper]

I'm in,

Upwork account up and running... Couple of tests taken to get a better profile... I am now number 1 for 'flight attendant service'...
On a serious note, I have contacted 3 leads for jobs, and already spent hours on a guy who wants seo, but can't really decide... How he wants to proceed.
Goals:
3 paid jobs done by first week in January, with 5 star rating. ...And enjoy doing it!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Shiiiit… the guy who did not know what he wanted, and said he only had 200 USD to spent, just sent me a contract suggestion on 1000 USD! I did not expect that, but looks like the idea of focusing on helping him out paid off. Now I better get some work done

 

[Fox]

First contract landed.

My brother wants a gig done that will take a month and pays around $2,200.
It will be done through the site so that should be 55 hours @ $40. It will be a lot more but that is just how I will clock the hours.
I obviously didn't use the site to land this gig but it will be great for landing future gigs (hourly rate, feedback and portfolio).

In reality that budget is nearly all project expenses. I don't care. If you can't do it for free then you don't deserve to charge.

Sinister Lex always said the principles in his threads can be applied to other areas. This is exactly what I am doing. I will be incorporating Copywriting but it will be more under the title of Marketing and Project Launches. I know my project launching skills are strong even though some of the products haven't been amazing. As Gary V would say embrace your strongest areas and work with those.

I will still complete the 15 day challenge and keep this thread updated as I might take some side gigs too.

 

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[Chris Veal]

Just finished with my first client last Thursday. Not much but a start. Gotta keep it movin' now.

Also, started to setup my profile on Upwork.

 

[Fox]

Much to learn, you still have.

Seen the movie last night, I did.
Worked close to the location in the last scene, I have.

 

[Chris Veal]

For any newbies at copywriting, here is good advice on getting clients:

How To Get Your First Paid Copywriting Job WITHOUT A Portfolio, References or Pestering Friends and Family by Bond Halbert

www.bondhalbert.com

 

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[StompingAcorns]

Yep. There are people making 5x that number.

Hi Phillip, I'm interested to know more details about this. I don't know how to write marketing copy, but I'm a good writer and could learn. How quickly can someone get in the $500-1000/hour range, and do you know of any guides for marketing yourself once you've learned the skill? Any additional information you could provide would be appreciated.

 

[SINA AWOYEMI]

I don't know shit about copywriting......count me in!

Goals:

January - Make $100 through copy-writing

February - Make $200 through copy-writing

March - Make $400 through copy-writing

April - Make $700 through copy-writing

May - Make $1,000 through copy-writing

June - Make $1,500 through copy-writing

July-December - Continually improve income via copy-write month over month

please i will like to be part of this what exactly is the procedure please?

 

[Fox]

please i will like to be part of this what exactly is the procedure please?

Welcome - Its all detailed on the first post of this thread.

 

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[SINA AWOYEMI]

please where is the actual thread.still can't see it.please can u give me the link.am very interested pleaseeee

 

[SINA AWOYEMI]

please somebody should please come down to my level pleaseeeee

 

[Fox]

please somebody should please come down to my level pleaseeeee

Read this thread and read the other main copyrighting threads on this forum. They are easy to find using the search function.

 

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[Chris Veal]

Hi Phillip, I'm interested to know more details about this. I don't know how to write marketing copy, but I'm a good writer and could learn. How quickly can someone get in the $500-1000/hour range, and do you know of any guides for marketing yourself once you've learned the skill? Any additional information you could provide would be appreciated.

Hi, I know you post is directed at Philip, but just thought I could throw my 2 cents in. I'm new to copywriting as well but what I've learned so far is to train your brain the following way:

1. Hand write/copy the most successful ads to train your subconscious - Dan Kennedy wrote 85 sales letters by hand to jump start his career. You can get swipe files off the internet and I will upload some here for you. It is recommended to practice writing an hour a day.

2. Read all the great copywriting books available (i will upload a list of those).

3. Join a like minded group (or mastermind group). On facebook I'm a member of copywriter cafe.

4. Constantly check ads you see on a daily basis and review them. Save your junk mail to review the copy.

5. Approach prospects with the following:

How To Get Your First Paid Copywriting Job WITHOUT A Portfolio, References or Pestering Friends and Family by Bond Halbert

www.bondhalbert.com

 

[AndrewNC]

Here's an article I wrote elsewhere. I feel It's appropriate here.


Tapping Into Human Emotions

Think of sitting on a raft and going downstream with the existing current that moves the river in one direction. How relaxing and easy is your journey when you go with the flow? Now, turn that raft around and try paddling upstream against that strong current.

Writing sales copy is the exact same way: When you go with the flow, it will be easy.

If you put the principles in the analogy above to use, you will be lightyears ahead of most people out there who try to sell everything based on logic.

In the best-selling book, Cashvertising, you learn that humans are biologically programmed to fulfill eight emotionally desires that are hardwired into our DNA:

1. Survival, enjoyment of life, life extension.

2. Enjoyment of food and beverages.

3. Freedom from fear, pain, and danger.

4. Sexual companionship.

5. Comfortable living conditions

6. To be superior, winning, keeping up with the Joneses.

7. Care and protection of loved ones.

8. Social approval.

Personal development coach, Tony Robbins talks about six emotional human needs:

1. Certainty: assurance you can avoid pain and gain pleasure.

2. Variety: the need for the unknown, change, new stimuli.

3. Significance: feeling unique, important, special, or needed.

4. Connection/Love: a strong feeling of closeness or union with someone or something.

5. Growth: an expansion of capacity, capability, or understanding.

6. Contribution: a sense of service and focus on helping, giving to and supporting others.

Which of these match up with your ideal customer's emotional desires?

Certain emotional desires resonate better with your audience than others. For example, if you are selling a training course on men’s dating advice - Sexual Companionship and Connection/Love will be your primary emotional drivers, but there is a way to connect every single one of these emotions to your product.

You won’t use all of them in your sales copy, but what I like to do is write a story or description that demonstrates how your product can fulfill that emotional desire.

You can’t create emotional desires: This is the most common mistake at this stage.

Before getting started, realize that you don't try to create emotional desires in people. It is much easier to tap into their existing emotional desires. Since these are the core emotional desires of all humans, they will be there in your market, but some may already bay fulfilled.

Example: Let’s say I sell a product that teach people how to make more money.

You are a 21 year old young male looking to date girls and feel significant by driving nice cars. I can tap into your existing biological desire to hook up with attractive women. I can use pictures of beautiful women posing with Lamborghinis and link my product to that desire.

You are a 45 year old married man with 3 kids looking to support your family.

The emotional need for love/sexual companionship is already fulfilled. The attractive women may resonate with you, but not as strong as the 21 year old males. So for this market, I can use images of a secure and stable family, and a confident businessman in a suit.

This is why I like to begin with an ideal image of WHO I am serving in mind first.

 

[StompingAcorns]

Hi, I know you post is directed at Philip, but just thought I could throw my 2 cents in. I'm new to copywriting as well but what I've learned so far is to train your brain the following way:

Wow, @Chris Veal - thanks so much for sharing your process and all of those resources. I really appreciate it!

 

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[Second Saint]

@Poookly

Your copy for Day 7 (The princess one) was pretty good. I loved the angle you took and some of your word choices were really clever (ex. frog, prince motif). I could definitely see some chick gobbling it up.


EDIT:

Hey guys, I'm going to bow out of the group for now. Good luck to everyone learning copy in 2016

 

[Fox]

Happy New Year Everyone.

I have decided to not go the UpWork route but use my copywriting skills to relaunch some products I already have. I will still keep an eye on this thread and help people out whatever way I can. I will also update on my personal results every so often.

I wish everyone the best this year and can't wait to see everyones progress.